Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1887-02-04
INSECT PARASITES.

The Constant Warfare WaSed AEafnst
I. Thorn by the Entire Hylnenopternas q
Family. w = # stts5 .s &;ss ii
We have but to open orr eyes to see
the constant war that the hylnenopter-
ousinsects wage againstiniurious ones.
Even those most dreaded by us, are
helping to diminish the numbers Of the
enemies Of our gardens and fields. The !,
white-faced hornet which often hangs
it's great paper nest in our orchards and
which every body fears, is nevertheless
destroying lnyriads Of noxious' insects
This past summer I was picking pear
from a tree which was infested by that
worst enemy Of the pear and cherry.
trees-the ..slug,' (Selafdrta Cerass),
when noticed several hornets on the
tree. Stepping back and keeping watch
I saw they veere taking the slugs from
the leaves. Sometimes one would get
two or three, and holding them in its
| mandibles and fore legs, would fly to
its nest on neighboring tree, where it,
no doubt, fed the unsavory things to
the young hornets. -.
| To this order also belong the .ichneu-
mon-hies, which compose one of the
most important and largest groups in
the insect world. They are all para
sites. Some are quite large, while
others are so small that they can scarce
" be seen without the aid of lens
But they all have similar habits, de-
posting their eggs in other insects.
The largest species leave but one egg in
each victim, while some of the smaller
ones leave great numbers.
| One of the most familiar examples
may be found in the to1nato-worn.
Some years it is almost impossible to
find worm free from these internal
parasites. The parent Of these para
sites is tiny, black microgaster fly,
which goes peering about among the
tomato vines until-it finds a worm,
when it lays great many eggs all over
its body. The eggs soon hatch, and the
minute larvae work their way into the
body of the worm: The worm eats vo.
raciously, and grows as fast as il
nothing was the matter. The little
parasites grow too, and make the body
of their host look plump and full. fol
they are packed thickly between thu
digestive organs and the skin, where
they consume all of the fat, which
would otherwise go to make the future
moth.
When the little things are full-grown
and have finished eating, they gnav
their way out through the skin Of thei
host, and now standing Oh end, the,
commence to spin their small cocoon
oil over it's back and sides. The poo
victim has rapidly shriveled and shrun1
in size, its appetite is gone, and it sool
dies. But it clings to the plant, an
lives long enough for the small flies t.
come out of the cocoons, which is il
: about FIVE days after they are spun
Each one pushes up a tiny cap or doc
} on the top of it's cocoon, and yer
> different looking creature comes fort
> from that which we saw wind itself i
the cocoon. 1t is astonishing hoy
, quickly the transformation has bee
5 wrought, but here it stands on ii
. empty cocoon, a small, bright, wide
f awake, active fly, waving its antennt
, and making its toilet preparatory
, launching out in the great world, whe1
: it soon repeats the work Of its predece
9 sor.-Mnv Treat, n Ch0stbuuQu0's.